Tag: litigation

Matthew 5:21-26

You’ll recall the old law that says, “You shall not murder.” Until now murderers have been put on trial. But I say, don’t even be angry with each other. From now on rage will also be put on trial, and putting one another down will be condemned in court. Anyone who subjects another person to emotional abuse can rot in hell.

So, if you’re thinking of giving something to charity but you haven’t made amends with the people around you, don’t bother. Once you’ve fixed your personal relationships, then your charitable contributions will will mean something.

If you’re going to bankruptcy court and your creditors offer you a deal, take it. Otherwise, they’ll hall you before the judge and then off to prison. I’m telling you, they’ll hound you and make your life a living hell until you’ve paid all your bills in full.

Three points here:

While the law holds people accountable for the biggies, like murder, most of the time, it’s not an issue that most of us have to deal with on a daily basis. (How many times have you really, seriously contemplated killing someone?) Road rage, though, is something that happens to a lot of people every day. Emotional abuse is way more common. So far as Jesus is concerned, those are the ones we need to address in order to live in community.

The same thing applies to charitable giving (whether it’s at church or not). When corporations give big grants to build a playground to cover for their ongoing pollution, it’s called “greenwashing.” But it’s not just big bad corporations that do it. Giving a check to your church on Sunday, or to the March of Dimes doesn’t “make up” for beating your wife and kids. And volunteering at the library doesn’t “make up” for all the mean things you said to your sister.

And, the same thing applies to litigation. Then and now, people were and are prone to wanting their “day in court.” Jesus says, “Court sucks.” Of course, if someone is determined to take you to court, there’s no stopping them doing it, but his advice is do what you have to to stay out of there. Once you get there, things have a way of going really badly.

All of these things are about moving toward a more civil society. You can’t achieve this where there everyone is angry and where rage breeds more rage. You can’t achieve it where there remain unaddressed issues of abuse in whatever form it takes. You can’t achieve it where material gifts are used as an excuse for relational robbery. And you can’t achieve it where the only way to work out differences is by litigation.

And here’s the best part: there’s nothing Jesus says here that requires anyone to be “religious” in order to start living it.